Celebrated every October, NCSAM was originally created in 2003 and is a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. This year, the campaign continues a six-year focus called: “STOP. THINK. CONNECT.” with theme weeks dedicated to creating a culture of cyber security in the workplace, recognizing and combatting cyber crime and more.

Hack-tober CompetitionOctober 3, 8am-4pm
Scott Air Force Base
Join the Midwest Cyber Center of Excellence as they kick off National Cyber Security Awareness Month with afree Capture the Flag (CTF) hackathon. 375th Communications Group and Midwest Cyber Center of Excellence is hosting a CTF event open to the public for all ages. Register teams of 1-4. Bring your personal laptop with charging device and we will supply the rest. The CTF will be held at Scott AFB, Building 859 in the Multi-Purpose Room Oct. 1st from 8am – 4pm. Anyone needing a visitor pass to get on base will need to visit the registration page for more details.

Scott Air Force Base Cyber BanquetOctober 6, 5:30pm-10pm
Scott Event Center
The Commander, 375th Air Mobility Wing, Colonel Laura L. Lenderman, invites the public to attend the Scott Air Force Base Cyber Banquet in celebration of National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The evening’s guest speaker is the Commander, United States Transportation Command, General Darren W. McDew. View the invitation for more details.

The Rise of Cyber Crime: A Discussion with Enterprise Bank and RubinBrown’s Cyber Security ExpertsOctober 13, 3:30-5pm
Sunset Country Club
Vigilance and a healthy dose of skepticism are the best weapons in the battle against cyber crime. Rob Rudloff, CISSP-ISSMP, and Audrey Katcher, CPA, CISA, CITP, CGMA, both Partners at RubinBrown will discuss why Cyber Crime is on the rise and what you should be doing to avoid crime happening to you and your organization. Continuing Professional Education Credits available. To register, contact Diane Clayton.

Secure World ExpoOctober 18-19
America Center Convention Complex
The Secure World Expo conference, which happens in 14 different markets throughout the year, draws security professionals for training and education sessions over two days. Attend featured keynotes, panel discussions, and breakout sessions while networking with local peers. Attendees can earn 12-16 CPE credits through 60+ educational elements. Tickets start at $30 for an open session pass. View all ticket levels here.

ISACA Breakfast Presentation, The Great Debate: Security vs PrivacyOctober 19, 7:30–9am
Fontbonne’s Dunham Student Activity Center
We are living in an era where we run up against trade-offs in our privacy that create greater security risks. Should Apple unlock criminals’ iPhones? Was Snowden a traitor or a patriot? What information should our children divulge on social media? Should our browsing preferences be available to the world? This talk by security expert David Strom, a nationally published author and speaker, will address these and other issues that are at the forefront of the fight between security and privacy. Features a free hot breakfast buffet.

The Close It Summit (Dallas, Texas, Oct 4-6, 2016) “Shift Happens: No Turning Back.” This year’s Close It Summit will be held in the heart of Texas at the Dallas Hyatt Regency Reunion Tower during the most festive time of the year: The Texas State Fair! The Focus of this year’s Summit will be on the SHIFT to competencies and what is happening in competency-based education, training, and hiring. Highlights include: Employment Technologies shifting the space, competency-based assessments shifting the space, employers shifting their hiring practices, and higher education shifting their strategies to competencies.The shift is happening. There is no turning back. Don’t miss Close It 2016!

RFUN 2016: 5th Annual Threat Intelligence Conference (Washington, DC, USA, October 5 – 6, 2016) The fifth annual RFUN Conference is a two-day event that brings together the diverse and talented community of analysts and operational defenders who apply real-time threat intelligence to out-innovate their adversaries. We invite Recorded Future customers, partners, and threat intelligence enthusiasts to join us at RFUN 2016.

West Coast Summit of International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (Mountain View, California, Oct 6, 2016) The West Coast Summit will bring together technology and security leaders in Silicon Valley. The summit extends the success of the inaugural ICMCP National Conference held in Washington DC in March and the earlier DC Town Hall meeting hosted by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson. It will provide another opportunity to raise the dialogue on the necessary strategic, tactical and operational imperatives needed to attract and develop minority cybersecurity practitioners.

National K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference (Arlington, Virginia, Oct 6-7 2016) The National K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference will expand a national effort to address the challenge and opportunities of cybersecurity education, training, and workforce needs of the nation. This two-day event will focus on strategies to accelerate learning and skills development, methods to best nurture a diverse learning community, and provide approaches to guide career development and workforce planning for today’s youth.

Cyber Maryland (Baltimore, Maryland, Oct 20-21, 2016) Maryland is recognized as a cybersecurity leader – nationally and internationally. The state has developed cybersecurity experts, education and training programs, technology, products, systems and infrastructure. With over 10 million cyber hacks a day resulting in an annual worldwide cost of over $100 billion, the United States is at risk. Last year alone, tens of millions of Americans had their identities and their bank accounts threatened or compromised. Ensuring that our nation has the workforce, technology and resources to protect our citizens, businesses, infrastructure, intellectual property and more is of paramount importance. Maryland continues to be a leader on this front.

Kelly is Cofounder/Managing Partner of EQ and Cofounder of ALIVE Media Group. After earning an M.A. in literature at Washington University in St. Louis, Kelly cofounded ALIVE in 2002. He believes becoming an entrepreneur can change not only the life of that entrepreneur, but also his/her community and the world, and that being able to tell stories of transformation like that is the best job one could have.